


Galaxies

by MeatballSander



Series: Welcome to Gallow's Creek [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alcohol, Drinking & Talking, Drunken Confessions, Fantasy, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Knights - Freeform, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Past Relationship(s), Short One Shot, The inherent eroticism of two knights posted at the same guard station
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26423887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeatballSander/pseuds/MeatballSander
Summary: Only a miracle could bring the scenario he needed. If he were lucky, it'd be whisked in on this all too familiar summer breeze. A long time ago, he wished he could live like the wind, bathing in that sense of erratic freedom. But he now realised that was the life he led - and he wanted out.A story about two knights posted at the same guard station.
Relationships: Original Female Character(s) & Original Male Character(s), Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: Welcome to Gallow's Creek [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1650853
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I heard someone say "yeah college aus are nice but have you ever considered the homosexual tension between two knights posted at the same guard station" and I haven't been the same since.
> 
> Title is the song Galaxies by Laura Veirs  
> Loosely inspired by the movies The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Coherence

People always talk about there being the "right time and place for everything". If you just wait that bit longer and have a little faith, perhaps the opportunity you've been dreaming of will present itself. But be careful of rushing it: you could ruin everything. 

Cass scowled, clutching his arm. Only a miracle could bring the scenario he needed. If he were lucky, it'd be whisked in on this all too familiar summer breeze; the breeze that welcomed him into this world and would likely push him out of it. It danced among the wild daisies of the rolling plains indiscriminately, like a royal bachelor at a ball seeking a bride among the attendees. A long time ago, Cass wished he could live like the wind, bathing in that sense of erratic freedom. But he now realised that was the life he led - and he wanted out.

Standing from a lounged position whilst wearing moderate plate armour was harder than it should've been for a knight like him - today the steel feeling more like lead. His brain knew he had little time (he could barely bring himself to look at that damned clock anymore) while his muscles insisted on being as sluggish as the sun creeping down from the sky. No. He couldn't allow himself to be as tardy as to be showered in the sunset's clementine glow. It'd be too late. He had to treat today as if it were his last: it almost was, after all.

His brain kick-starting his body with a pang of his heart, Cass shot off down that lovely hill. His dark hair bounced as he nearly tripped, his feet scrambling over the countless rabbit warrens. He daren't look back. He spent all morning sitting up amongst his floral companions, making flower chains to decorate the fence posts that swarmed the perimeter of his home. That was his final goodbye to that field and the house that sat in it; only a single goodbye to go, the one more important than others.

  
*

  
"You okay?" Jericho asked, leaning against the wall of their guard post. A mere shack, propped up outside the towering stone barrier of the city. This was where Cass had been stationed when he enlisted as a knight, and after four years he never was moved from his spot. 

He was barely older than Cass, however his fatigued demeanour made it seem like they were a decade apart. Cass' hair was soft and cropped to chin length whereas Jericho's was overgrown and greasy; an unloved garden. Yet looks have a habit of betrayal: Jericho was well-tempered and caring, looking out for Cass since he was posted at this station with him.

"I'm..." Cass was midway through blurting out his go-to response: _"I'm fine."_ But... Could he truly allow himself to be so automatic today? A missed detail would be a missed chance. 

"You're...?" Jericho leaned closer to him, expectant.

"I have something to ask you. A request." Cass raised their muddy brown eyes to meet Jericho's: in the refreshing midmorning light they appeared golden, his irises pools of honey.

"Hit me with it." He changed his stance yet still found a way to lean, this time with his sword as a support.

"I..." He flushed, yet he could not allow embarrassment stop him. The time had to be now. "Would you take the day off with me?"

Jericho blinked. "You - you, of all people - want me to skip work?"

"Yes."

"And if someone suspicious approaches this gate while we're not here?"

"Please." Cass didn't want to plead, but he couldn't take no for an answer.

"Alright, let's say I will." He waved a hand. "Why? Why today?" 

"Do... You remember my tattoo?" Cass slipped off his gauntlet.

"Yeah; it was your number back when you were a slave, right?"

"That's what I told you." The gauntlet dropped to the dusty ground with a muffled clatter as he began to roll up his sleeve.

Jericho raised an eyebrow, catching on: "But... You lied?"

"Yeah." Cass chuckled out of sheer anxiety. "It's okay if you don't believe me, but... The number is actually a clock."

"A clock?"

"It counts down the hours until I'm forced to leave." Cass' woollen sleeve was now up past his elbow - the tattoo was clear to see, his pale copper skin bearing a red number. It was in the thirty thousands when the two first met, but now it was a measly sixteen. 

Jericho narrowed his eyes, concerned. "What do you mean, leave?"

"There's... I was born with a curse."

"Go on."

"Every choice makes a new reality; a new world. Most people are lucky enough to be able to stay in one their whole life." Cass gulped, his throat feeling like it was filling with coarse hay. "I am not."

Jericho just stared at him as Cass fought his screaming nerves, determined to continue. "But once the time is up, I'll be assigned a new one at random, in a random time period, and the clock will reset for a random amount of time."

After a period of silence, Jericho's voice drawled: "What the _hell_ are you talking about?"

"It's fine to be skeptical. If you end this conversation viewing me as psychotic, I accept that." Cass was aware he was blazing through this explanation, he was aware he was rambling like a madman, but he was afraid of losing more time. "This isn't my first world, and I know it won't be my last. But I just knew I couldn't leave this one without telling you the truth."

"So this is goodbye, is what you're saying." He took in the bizarre story he had been fed. "Why do you have that clock, anyway? Your curse?"

"My parents messed around with some... Unfavourable magic. I was just unlucky enough to be born with the consequences." His sigh was a pathetic one. "Everyone I meet I'm destined to leave behind."

"So what? Want me to party with you today as a last hurrah?"

"Jericho, I..." Cass' voice grew soft: his only defence against it cracking. The moment had arrived - he could feel it. "I just don't wanna leave you."

Jericho shifted, for once in his life standing straight. At some point during this manoeuvre Cass found his vision growing hazy, obscured by tears he promised himself he wouldn't show. He couldn't continue eye contact like this!

"I just..." His whole body shivered. "I like doing my work here with you. I-I like lazing in the shadow of the city and laughing with you. I like hitting the tavern after work with you, and you having to carry me home."

Jericho took another step forward and like a viper he struck, his arms wrapped around Cass in a bear hug. His armour was awkward and his skin was rough, but Cass couldn't resist accepting the embrace, burying his face into the crook of his neck.

"I wish things could stay this way forever, Jericho." He couldn't believe how hot his tears burned on his face. "I... I love you. And I want the opportunity to prove that. Even if it's just for a day."

Jericho's grip loosened, and as their eyes met again this time it was his turn to flush red. A grin spread across his face to shield his embarrassment. "I'll skip work. But god, only as long as you promise to never slap me with something that sappy ever again, promise?"

"I'm not-"

Jericho shushed him.

"...I promise."

His brow furrowed. "And seriously, why didn't you tell me all this years ago?"

"I was waiting for the right moment; one I couldn't ruin." His smile grew full of warmth. "It's a little late, but I'm glad it came."

Satisfied with his response, Jericho pecked him on the cheek, nearly sending Cass into conniptions. It was a miracle he didn't die on the spot when Jericho lifted him, carrying him like a trophy as he marched away from their post. 

"W-what are you doing?" Cass clung to him like a panicked cat.

"What else?" His proclamation was in the form of a victorious whoop, apathetic to anyone who could be listening in. "I'm off to make sure the next sixteen hours are the greatest of your life!"


	2. Epilogue

"What about you, Cass?" Penny slammed her empty glass down onto the table, signalling the bartender for another. "You ever been in love? Like, true love? Or do you agree that Claudette is full of shit?"

"I dunno..." Cass slurred, three sheets to the wind.

"C'mon, with all you've been through, there has to have been someone!" Claudette cooed over the hustle and bustle of the bar and lounge's happy hour. 

Penny stuck out her tongue. "Oh come on, no amount of time is gonna make it exist. Stop graspin' at straws, girl!"

"Well, no," Cass interjected quietly, "there _was_ someone."

"What?" Penny snapped her head around to face him, Claudette leaning over her shoulder so all eyes were in him.

"Hold your horses. I... wouldn't exactly call it true love," Cass took a long sip of his drink, eyes down on that wretched red number on his arm, "but if I could go back in a different life to be with them again, I'm sure I would."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to link it back to GC somehow.  
> For anyone interested, I imagine Cass now works as a 911 operator.  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
